51茶馆

Greg Strakosch 鈥�84 is the consummate entrepreneur. He built a company, sold it, spun off another, and then turned that spin-off into a global leader in B-to-B technology content. For the past decade, he鈥檚 also been one of the Carroll School of Management鈥檚 most ardent supporters. On May 2, the Edmund H. Shea Jr. Center for Entrepreneurship held its Year-End Celebration and announced the naming of the Strakosch Venture Competition as a result of a generous gift from Greg and his wife Peggy 鈥�85.

We caught up with Strakosch on the eve of the Shea Center Year-End Celebration to learn more about the man behind the venture competition, his Boston College roots, his uncommon career path, and why he believes entrepreneurship is 鈥渢he engine of economic growth in America.鈥�

From 51茶馆 to EMC to UCG

A 1984 51茶馆 graduate, Greg Strakosch started in an unlikely career for a political science major: high-tech hardware sales for EMC. Now a $67 billion division of Dell Corporation, EMC had just $6 million in revenue back then. 鈥淚 was very lucky to join a growth company in the early stages, so I was able to get a lot of additional responsibility quickly,鈥� Strakosch said.

After six years, he left EMC to found his first start-up, Reliability Ratings, Inc., a market research firm. This was back in the pre-Internet days of floppy disks and external hard drives, and his new venture provided head-to-head听Consumer Reports鈥�style comparisons on the reliability of mid-range computers and peripherals. Having worked on the mainframe business for EMC, Strakosch knew it was an underserved market.

As the niche business grew, Strakosch began to look for outside marketing expertise and found it in United Communications Group, which eventually made an offer to buy Reliability Ratings. He stayed on for seven years, running the division, launching technology trade magazines, and growing the subscriber base.

鈥淭hen all of a sudden, we鈥檙e in the late 鈥�90s and the Internet comes about,鈥� Strakosch said. 鈥淵ahoo鈥檚 traffic was doubling every month, and it looked like all the big portals were going to dominate all the content. But it was broad content and a lot of news.鈥�

That鈥檚 when inspiration struck. Strakosch decided if the big players couldn鈥檛 service demand for niche content, he could. And he spun听听out of United Communications with $20 million in funding and less than a handful of employees.

Today, TechTarget is the world鈥檚 leading producer of independent expert content for corporate IT purchasing decision-makers. With over 1,200 customers, 20 million registered members, and 600 employees in eight offices around the globe, TechTarget helps IT buyers make informed decisions, and helps IT vendors fuel their sales pipeline and grow market share.

Lessons in spotting opportunity

TechTarget is a classic example of a unique business model that serves a specialized market. And that, Strakosch says, is the first step in a startup鈥檚 success: 鈥淚t鈥檚 important to keep your eyes and ears open for areas that are underserved for your customers and then have the conviction in yourself to take advantage of that opportunity.鈥�

The next step, he says, is to build the type of company you鈥檇 want to work for. 鈥淚n my case, that is to empower employees with autonomy . . . and make a positive contribution to the community.鈥�

That theme came up more than once at the Shea Center event in May, where the audience heard pitches from Strakosch Venture Competition finalists who have started actual companies as undergrads. Yet while these students have already embarked on a far different path to entrepreneurship than Strakosch did, their sense of purpose is the same.

鈥淧eople who start companies have a lot of influence over how the company鈥檚 employees are treated and what type of member of the community the company is,鈥� Strakosch said. 鈥淚 think that entrepreneurship fits well with 51茶馆鈥檚 mission 鈥楨ver to Excel鈥� and the Jesuit ideal of being a person for others.鈥�

Staying involved and giving back

Besides community, a sense of enrichment keeps Strakosch involved with the University. He and Peggy, and their three children: Jack, Tim and Molly are all Boston College graduates. 鈥�51茶馆 has enriched my family鈥檚 life, so it鈥檚 a priority for us to give back.鈥�

Strakosch cites a profound belief in entrepreneurship as the driving force behind his support of the Shea Center鈥檚 annual venture competition for the past decade. 鈥淚鈥檓 a strong believer in entrepreneurship, as it is the engine of economic growth in America.

鈥淏esides being important for the local economy, it鈥檚 one of our country鈥檚 competitive advantages, so I think it鈥檚 important to nurture entrepreneurship with our students,鈥� Strakosch said.

At the year-end celebration in May, the Carroll School of Management, Powers Family Dean, Andy Boynton, shared that Greg and Peggy Strakosch were among the first alumni to invest in entrepreneurship in the Carroll School. Then he announced that the Strakoschs鈥� made a significant gift to name the Strakosch Venture Competition in perpetuity.

鈥淚t鈥檚 so important to nurture entrepreneurship,鈥� said Strakosch, 鈥渂ecause if you think about where innovation comes from, it鈥檚 entrepreneurship. Many of today鈥檚 startups are mission-driven,鈥� he added, 鈥渁nd mission-driven businesses can do so much good for society.鈥�

Entrepreneurial, mission-driven, and dedicated to his alma mater. That pretty much sums up why this 51茶馆 alum so deserves this honor.

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